Immortality Saga Part 1: Never Eternal
by yumeneko
Summary: Hakkai has died in a bloody battle with an unknown creature. Will Hakkai be revived? Sanzo fights to save him with the help of two unknown characters.
1. Bloody Battlefield

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and gore.

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_"A million tears in the ocean will never revive the soul of one."_

The Sanzo-ikkou were struggling against a terrible creature. It wasn't a demon. It was a monster with snakes for arms and terrible blood-stained fangs. The battlefield was stained with the blood of those who have perished. The scent of this destruction was enough to make one vomit.

Sanzo covered his mouth he watched the monster eat one of the villagers who volunteered to help them. The blood of the man splashed on Goku's face, covering his right eye. Goku tried to kill the monster, but one of the serpentine arms bit into his leg and flung him towards Gojyo, smashing into his ribs. Sanzo backed away at the horrifying bloodshed. He took a deep breath and aimed his gun at the creature and shot. The bullet hit home but creature didn't die, but instead, he charged towards the monk. 

Hakkai cried in worry as he threw himself to shield Sanzo. Sanzo closed his eyes and tried to escape from the bloodshed, but as his eyes were closed, he heard Hakkai's screams of pain.

The creature's claws slashed at Hakkai furiously creating a huge gash along his arm. Sanzo opened his eyes and found a bleeding Hakkai in his arms. The blood stained the monk's clean robes and the metallic smell was hard to bear. 

"I did my best, Sanzo... You don't need to carry a burden like me anymore..." Hakkai softly said as he showed his concern in emerald orbs. Tears began to form in Sanzo's eyes. 

The creature rushed forward to feed on his freshly killed prey. He bit Hakkai by the arm and flung him like a rag doll. The sound of bones popping out of their joints sickening Sanzo greatly. The blood from the wound spilled about, staining the field a crimson shade. Sanzo in pure rage started to fire uncontollably at the monster. As the creature died, dropping Hakkai into the crimson grass, Sanzo rushed to his aid.

"Hakkai! Hakkai! Tell me you're alive! Please!" Tears fell on the brunette's pale face, "Hakkai! You shouldn't die! Please! Please!" The gaze on Hakkai's eyes never changed. Tears streamed down Sanzo's face as he traced his comrades face with his hand and closed his eyes, signifying that he has perished. Sanzo stood alone on the bloodstained battlefield. Goku and Gojyo were unconsious and injured. But the tears were for Hakkai.

"Hakkai..." Sanzo looked on his bloodstained hands and cried to heaven, "You died saving me... Why me, kami-sama! First you take my master from me! Now you take Hakkai! You bastard! You always take everything from me!" He dropped to his knees and mourned.


	2. The Grim Reaper

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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This is a rewrite! I repeat! This is a rewrite!

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and gore.

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_"The wings of life have withered. Silently mourning to hold in the deep pain that lies beneath."_

"Gojyo... Sanzo hasn't acted like himself recently..." Goku watched the blonde monk from afar. Sanzo was acting quite strange. For some strange reason, he constantly smoked. Yet, he never stopped to drink or eat. He just sat there near the window overlooking the fields where Hakkai died while he smoked.

"I know... He's still depressed over Hakkai's death."

"Why did Hakkai die?" Goku asked. Gojyo turned his back and cleched his fists.

"Because that bastard monster killed him! That's why! Kuso!" Gojyo kicked the ground in anger. Slowly, the anger turned to sadness, "I wish we could have saved him... If only he didn't die..."

"Gojyo..."

Meanwhile, inside Sanzo's mind, many questions arose. He thought erratically. 

"Hakkai... Why did you die now?" Sanzo asked in his mind as he continued to smoke. All his visions was of the past. The blood when Komyo died, the guts on the floor from the wound in the stomach, the late Sanzo's terrified face, immortalized in death. And now he was haunted by Hakkai's death, the metallic smell of blood, the crimson field and unlike Komyo, Hakkai's face was calm in death.

"I haven't even told you how I really feel... I wish I wasn't so cold all this time... I really wish... I wish I can turn back time..." The cigarette in Sanzo's hand shook slightly and his arm fell to his side.__

Gojyo put his hand on Sanzo's shoulder. Sanzo tried to recompose himself, but it was no use, his stern voice had been reduced to a slight whisper, "What do you want?"

"I know you're depressed about Hakkai's death... Do ya wanna get drunk over it?"

"Please... I don't wanna forget him..."

"Neither do I, but we do have a mission to finish."

"No. I don't think I can go on... I'm too weak."

"Stop admonishing yourself like this, Sanzo! This is not like you!" Gojyo yelled.

"I couldn't protect Komyo Sanzo... I couldn't protect Hakkai... I'm so damned weak!" Sanzo shouted in frustration.

"Sanzo... Please... Just for one glass of beer? Just to get over this..." Gojyo pleaded on the door.

"Fine then... but just one glass..." Sanzo opened the door.

"You surely have left a mess here..." Gojyo tisked as he looked at the surrounding cigarette butts strewn across the floor.

In a nearby bar, Sanzo and Gojyo both ordered equally strong liquor. Sanzo stared at his drink for a while Gojyo continuously drank.

"You're not drinking, Sanzo… What's the matter."

"Don't mind me…" Sanzo grumbled, "Just leave me alone!"

"Sanzo…"

"I said… LEAVE ME ALONE!" Sanzo angrily demanded as he left the bar. In the middle of the street, as he looked towards the direction of the battlefield where so many have died, someone caught his eye.

"There's someone in the distance... wearing green."

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A/N: CLIFFHANGER! Woohoo! Who the hell is this green-clothed figure?

Note about Sanzo's feelings:

Right, Komyo died and Sanzo kept on admonishing himself in his childhood that he couldn't protect him? The scene in chapter 1 caused Sanzo's memory to remember that time and so Sanzo fell into depression. That would be the reason why Sanzo would act OOC in most of the chapters.  WAHH!! Sowie about the shortness of all my chapters!! Demo, demo… I just wanted to have some stalling in between chapters so that well… That would make people wonder about what could happen next.


	3. Reveal

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Lookie loo… It's another rewrite.

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and gore. IYADA!! It's CG effects!! Wheeeeeee! *Thinks of Sanzo going through that portal thing with all the pretty Squaresoft CG... swoon!*

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_"Walk across the bloody field, reaping the souls of the dead..."_

The green-clothed figure came closer, "Genjo Sanzo..." he said in a voice that sounded like Hakkai's.

"Hakkai?" Sanzo questioned, trying to get closer.

As the figure came closer, and Sanzo fell to his knees as he looked at this stranger, for this mysterious figure has taken on the form of Hakkai.

"Hakkai... I thought you were dead..." Sanzo whispered in disbelief in front of the stranger.

"No, Genjo Sanzo... I am not Hakkai... I am the Grim Reaper." The stranger revealed in Hakkai's voice, "I came to take pity on you and return Cho Hakkai's soul to the living. In order for his soul to survive, I had to host his soul for the moment. His soul would have died if it didn't have a host. But I can't just give you his soul just like this. I was ordered to give you a test to prove that you truly want him to live again."

"Sanzo!" Sanzo heard Gojyo's searching cries in the distance.

Gojyo finally found his companion, but as he looked as the reaper, he said in disbelief, "Hakkai…?"

"Then what are these tests?" Sanzo asked.

"That… You will know when you take it." The reaper spoke, "But for the meantime, since my powers are nulled in this form, I'll have to find a temporary host for this soul." The reaper looked around for a host. Around the corner, the reaper found a music box.

"Yoshi... This will do." The reaper put his hand over the box and the two men watched the green aura of Hakkai's soul float into the box, revealing the true form of the reaper.

  
"You're a girl??" Gojyo asked the reaper in amazement. She was a young brown-haired girl with huge purple eyes.

"No... This really isn't a true form. It's the soul that I wanted to keep..." The reaper smiled.

Sanzo picked up the music box and held it close and pleaded, "Please... Let me take the test..." 

"Very well..." The reaper smiled, "I will tell you about your mission. I shall take you to the place of memories. Your job there is to change the memory of Hakkai dying. If you change any other memory before that, your whole life will change."

"Okay... I accept the test." Sanzo said sternly.

And so the reaper began to chant. A prism of light appeared under Sanzo's feet and in a blink of an eye, Sanzo disappeared...

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A/N: Wheee! Off to the world of memories we go! Does this sound familiar? Yep! Final Fantasy IX's Memoria! Okay now! Sorry about the short length of this chapter. What else could I add anyway…?


	4. My Job, My Priority

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Another rewritten yet short chapter…

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and gore. IYADA!! It's CG effects!! Wheeeeeee! *Thinks of Sanzo going through that portal thing with all the pretty Squaresoft CG... swoon!*

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_"Memories of those loved that were in the valley of the shadow of death have come to haunt me."_

Sanzo reappeared in a strange building. It was cold and dark. He walked on to look for the memory of Hakkai dying. But he was oblivious to what was happening in the outside world.

While Sanzo was in the place of memories, the reaper gave Gojyo the music box to guard while she had to continue reaping the souls of the dead. She put on her black hood and took her scythe, but Gojyo touched her shoulder, gesturing her to stay.

"Why is death so beautiful?" He asked.

The reaper stopped and turned around, "That's because I take on the soul of... never mind... She died a long time ago... She was only mortal..."

"Only mortal?" He questioned, "Then why didn't you resurrect her?"

"It was in my job! My job is to send the souls of the dead to Hades!" The reaper cried out.

"You should have done what was right and saved her!" Gojyo demanded.

The reaper was in tears, "I wasn't allowed to... so the only way I could save her was to keep her soul."

"Who are you?" Gojyo asked.

"I am Azrael... The Angel of Death... I have no body or soul, so I take on the soul of a person who is meant to be saved. Only those worthy to be saved are to be resurrected." Azrael took off the face of her soul to reveal nothing.

Sanzo continued to walk across the building when suddenly a strong current of water took him. He felt as if he would drown, but due to his state of oblivion, he was able to breathe in the water. A moment later, he saw Komyo picking up a boy who looked like him in his youth.

"Komyo..."

He got out of the water and followed the boy and his master to Changan.

"This boy..."

The boy looked around and Sanzo saw his face.

"Is me..."

Azrael took the soul of a dead soldier out of his body and put it in a bottle, "Well then... This is the last soul on this battlefield. I'll go back." She teleported back to where Gojyo was sitting with the music box. 

"Why did you say that Hakkai was to be saved?"

"Kanzeon Bosatsu told me to go against my job for once. If that soul had gone to Hades, he would be instantly transferred to Heaven! And Kanzeon decided that he had a big job here on earth..." 

"And what job is that?"

"To aid you in your journey to the west..."

Sanzo watched every fleeting memory of his youth. His life wasn't played out in whole, only things he remembered were shown. 

"I wish I could change my past... But my priority is Hakkai!"


	5. The Necrology

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Another rewritten chapter again. This time I added more Goku conversation.

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and Squaresoft hinting.

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_"Torn between past and future, but in the present, things have become worse..."_

In the darkness of Pandemonium, Hades sat upon his throne overlooking the pool of souls.

"Hades-sama, I have brought the list of the newly dead. Azrael should be here by now..." A man who wore a blood red cloak.

"Macabre... I want you to go after Azrael and collect her souls. She's late..." Hades commanded the man.

"Hai... I shall do my best, Hades-sama..." The man named Macabre nodded.

Meanwhile, Sanzo continued to follow Kouryuu. He knew that when Kouryuu would enter the door of Komyo's room, the worst thing would happen. Sanzo thought worriedly as he spoke, "What must I do... I don't want to see Komyo die again! But I still have to be focused on my mission."

On the other hand, Azrael kept watch over the music box, "Soon... I believe Macabre would be here. Hades-sama knows I'm late for the necrology reporting."

As she kept guard, she saw something in the shadows.

"Is it a Terra?" Azrael's eyes darted around, but all she saw was Gojyo.

"Azrael... What are you doing?" Gojyo asked.

"I thought you were asleep..."

"I thought YOU were asleep!" He laughed.

"Ha! Us undertakers are never asleep..." She laughed. As she did, she heard the strange rustle in the darkness, "Who's there?"

Out of the darkness, a black panther pounced on Azrael and took the music box in its mouth.

"Azrael!" Gojyo gasped. Black blood spilled from where the panther scratched her. He looked around, the panther had disappeared.

"I see you have met the Terra..." A young man's voice sounded. Gojyo turned to see the red-cloaked Macabre.

"Macabre-kun..." Azrael whispered in joy.

"You should have came back sooner... Hades-sama needs those souls to be kept away from those Terra." Macabre shook his head as he healed Azrael's wound.

Azrael looked for the Terra, "Where is it?"

"It ran away with that music box you've been guarding."

"Macabre, we must track it down before the soul is destroyed!"

"Of course, Azra-chan, if those Terra crush those souls, they will never be reincarnated!"

Azrael took out a black scythe out of thin air, "Actually, that soul's part of the key to destroying Gyumao..."

"Then what are we waiting for! Let's go already!" Macabre brought out a blood red lance.

"Matteru! Sanzo's still in the place of memories... We must take him out of there or else, once that soul is crushed, he could be stuck in there forever..." Azrael started to chant an incantation. Macabre joined in, hoping that he could speed up the process.

In the place of memory, Sanzo watched as Kouryuu was talking with Komyo, when suddenly, he was pulled back to the real world by the same prism of light that transported him to the place of memory.

"Sanzo! Hakkai's soul was abducted!" Gojyo informed Sanzo, "We must find those Terra!"

Macabre put his hand on Sanzo's shoulder, "You'll be a good asset to this mission... Can you fight with ofuda?"

"I'm not as skilled as Rikudo, but I can try my best..." Sanzo looked at the stronger man with determination. Macabre handed him a black case.

"These are the ofuda of the former head necromancer who tried to destroy the Terra. These ofuda are as strong as sutras when used against the undead Terra, but they do well in recovering allies." Macabre explained.

"Ah… Haraheta… What's everyone doing here so late at night??" Goku entered the scene.

"BAKAZARU!" Sanzo swatted the boy with his harisen, "Don't you know there's a crisis going on?!? This is not the time to worry about your stomach!!"

"Saaaaanzo!!" Goku whined as he was swatted, "If you're facing such danger, why don't you let me join?!?"

"Okay then, bakazarou…" Gojyo shrugged his shoulders, "You'd be a good asset to this mission."

"Ore wa saru ja nai yo!!" Goku angrily ended the conversation. 

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A/N: Is it me... Or is this starting to look like Squaresoft? 

List of Squaresoft hints:

1. Place of memories (FF9's Memoria)

2. Pandemonium (Another FF9)

3. The Terra (Since it takes the form of a black panther, let's just say it's Chrono Cross)    

4. Ofuda's power of killing Undead and recovering allies (Erm... Cast Life on the Undead and watch them die!)

5. Portal thingy (CHRONO CROSS!!)

This is crazy... 


	6. Terra Shadows

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and Squaresoft hinting.

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_"Who would ever know that he would come as an enemy?"_

And so they hunted down the Terra. Their first stop was that same battlefield where they met the monster. According to the Sanzo-ikkou's description of the monster, the two necromancers knew it was a Terra.

"I thought I killed it." Sanzo said.

"There are more types of Terra than the one you fought. You can recognize them by their bodies and their posture. They're awfully weak looking when they take on human bodies, but since their bodies are flexible, they're hard to hurt. Especially when you're only using your fists." Macabre explained.

"The Terra must have been using the one you fought to kill humans to collect souls. So I guess those Terras have been cleaning up this battlefield..." Azrael thought.

"Hmm... There's a trail of blood here... Knowing that Terras like this are definitely sloppy, we might as well follow the trail." Macabre suggested.

Deeper into the forest, they finally found the dwelling of the Terra, but before they could attack, three weak looking humans seized the group with their spears.

"What is your business here?" the first man asked

"We're here to save a soul, you Terra! Give it back!" Sanzo demanded.

"Heh! You reapers are stupid! You can't fool us! You just want to enslave us again in that pool of souls!"

"So I guess the Terra have finally found some corpses they can occupy..." Azrael's eyes narrowed, "Eat this, Terra scum!" Her scythe easily cut through all three's necks, beheading them instantly. She held her hand out and sucked the lost souls into bottles.

"Let's attack!" Goku said with determination, "Huh? I smell I blood here different from those Terra…"

"This just means we need to take caution here…" Gojyo said, "I think Macabre, Azrael and Sanzo should take offensive while me and Goku will go hunt down this strange blood…"

And so Sanzo with the two necromancers ambushed the Terra. Macabre summoned souls from Pandemonium. Azrael used her favorite scythe and reaped the souls of the dead. Sanzo blasted them to hell with his gun and killed a petrified few more with the ofuda.

But something unexpected happened, while the team was killing a vast amount of Terra, Sanzo heard someone clapping.

"Bravo... Bravo... Nice display of strength, Genjo Sanzo..." 

Sanzo looked towards the source of the voice and found...

"Hakkai..."       

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A/N: Ah… There's not that much rewrite here compared to the other chapters. But at least I've clarified the big deal about the Terra Sanzo fought in the first chapter. 


	7. Quietus

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Huge rewrite here!

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst and sap. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in later episodes. Sanzo shall become OOC. Might drive you sick. Lots of blood and Squaresoft hinting. Oooooo... What has happened here?

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_"Is it real?"_

"Hakkai..." Sanzo looked at the black clad man behind him.

"I see that you're shocked, Genjo Sanzo..." The man looked at him. He definitely looked like Hakkai, although something was wrong...

"Oi! Gojyo! That's the guy with the weird blood!" Goku pointed behind the bushes.

"Shut up! You wouldn't want us caught!" Gojyo scolded the younger.

"Onii-san! Why did you take over Hakkai's body?" Azrael demanded.

"Couldn't you remember? If I took the soul, this mind of mine would disappear..." The man laughed.

"You have no heart! But you did have a soul." Azrael said.

"Hold on! Why the hell is it like this?" Goku jumped out and broke the conversation.

"I'll explain..." Macabre said, "Azrael's family were all Grim Reapers. But they have never given birth to twins. Since Azrael and her brother Quietus were special, they had certain powers that ordinary reapers didn't possess. Azrael was born with the ability to take on the bodies of the souls she keeps without using the corpse. Quietus could use the corpse and control the mind. But the true defect came when Quietus was appointed the reaper. I was an apprentice Necromancer in those days. Quietus felt pity for the pool of souls, so he released them, sacrificing his body and emotions. He became merciless and led the liberated souls, calling himself the leader of the Terra. On the other hand, Azrael became the reaper and in order to seal the pool of souls, she sacrificed her body and soul. Immediately, she had to find a replacement for them, so she killed her best friend after her friend said that she'd offer Azrael anything. After her friend's death, she took on her body and soul. Luckily, her heart and mind was still Azrael."

"Confusing..." Goku blinked.

"Quietus… Why?" Azrael asked her brother.

Quietus levitated and summoned forth a crystal sphere that showed Pandemonium, "Let me explain this… Macabre… Do you remember when we were still friends?"

"Yes, I do…" Macabre replied, "I can remember that you hated how Pandemonium kept the souls in the pools. You pitied them. So you released them."

"Oh… Yes I did… We became the Terra," Quietus smiled as the crystal changed its image into the picture of the souls escaping Pandemonium, "When I released the souls, I became one of them. A soul. And they appointed me as their liberator and leader. So they told me all about their sufferings. So I promised them that they would get their revenge on Hades and the people who have sent them to their grave. We started off by possessing black panthers in this part of the forest. Soon, after we killed a few people, we were able to take their empty corpses and capture their souls. When we captured their souls, we asked them whether they would serve us or be destroyed. Most of them took our side and helped us. Some idiotic ones had a taste of this when they refused." The crystal sphere now showed an image of Quietus blasting a soul with a dark blast, "Soon, I had possessed a great number of bodies. All of them couldn't take my power. Not even some monks who I've killed as a panther hardly could stand my power. Then one day, one of my faithful Terra brought to me the body of an intelligent man. His intellect was wide and wonderful. But his body was ten times weaker than those who I had used in the past. For a while I could not blast those souls who refused to join forces. So I reaped them. Then, one of my spies, an old lady who sold food at the entrance of the town told me that she sensed a strong aura within you, Genjo Sanzo…"

"Oi! Oi! Sanzo!! That was the lady who sold us food when we came in!!" Goku cheerfully tugged Sanzo's sleeve. Sanzo, annoyed, smacked Goku with his harisen once again.

"So I dispatched my best henchman to kill you." Quietus said as the crystal showed an image of the Terra who killed Hakkai, "He was unsuccessful in capturing you, Sanzo. But he killed Cho Hakkai. Judging by how his soul reacted when I tried to possess the body, I believe he cared a lot for you, Sanzo. And I believe that you care this Cho Hakkai, too. So I decided to leave the soul on the battlefield for Azra-chan here to throw into Pandemonium. I believed that with this body, I could claim your body and soul, Sanzo. A man strong enough to help me rule over Pandemonium and make the Terra rule over this world!" Quietus laughed as the crystal showed a horrible image of the Terra running rampant throughout the world, "Let's just stop with this nonsense!" Quietus said in Hakkai's body, "I'll take you now, Sanzo!" He took out a blood red sword and started to attack Sanzo.

_"What should I do?" _Sanzo thought, _"If I destroy Hakkai's body, will I be able to save him?"_

"He's doubting..." Azrael said, "Sanzo! It's okay if you kill him! You can always go back to the place of memories! Just as long as the soul is safe!"

"The soul!" Gojyo realized as he overheard the battle. He found the music box glinting inside Quietus' palace. He ran for the soul, but suddenly, he was surrounded by two Terra. He easily took care of them with his weapon and snatched the music box.

Meanwhile, Sanzo continued to battle Quietus. It was a hard battle considering that Quietus had a sword while Sanzo only was able to dodge the attacks.

"Dammit! How am I supposed to kill him!?" He wondered when suddenly, Gojyo's chain wrapped around Quietus' wrist.

"Hurry up, Sanzo! He's strong!" Gojyo yelled from a distance.

So Sanzo started to chant finally casting the sutra, "MAKAI TENJOU!!"

The sutra stopped Quietus' movements.

"Oh no... You wouldn't want to kill me, would you? Of course..." His gaze slowly turned to Hakkai's caring features, "I am Hakkai..."

"Go to hell... Hakkai would never betray us!" Sanzo pointed his gun at Quietus.

"Demo... Sanzo..." Quietus said in Hakkai's voice, "Don't you want me alive? Sanzo… I love you…"

Sanzo started to falter. This was Hakkai's voice. This was Hakkai's face. This was Hakkai's body. But what if he didn't kill him? What if?

"Whoa!!" Gojyo fell to the floor as Hakkai's soul came out of the box. The green aura changed to white and blasted Quietus in the back.

Suddenly, everything turned blank and Sanzo found himself in a blank surrounding where it was occupied by Quietus levitating. His black cloak covered his whole body and seemed to fill the empty space behind him while his eyes were closed looking towards the sky. Then Sanzo heard Hakkai's voice.  
"Sanzo…" The voice repeated. Sanzo looked at Quietus to see the real Hakkai within him. He was in a fetal position, only his emerald eyes were the visible part of his face, "Sanzo… Listen to me…"

"Hakkai!" Sanzo said in elation.

"Sanzo… Listen…" Hakkai said, "I don't want my memory to be a burden to you… Please… I want you to defeat Quietus…"

"But Hakkai! Your body!" Sanzo pleaded.

"Don't worry about me, Sanzo… Just close your eyes… Point the gun at him and shoot…"

As soon as the soul's voice broke the illusion and disappeared, Sanzo shot Quietus.

"San... zo..." Quietus' eyes expressed shock as black blood trickled from his forehead, "Azra... won't you save your brother?"

"You betrayed Hades, brother!" Azrael stared at him with cold eyes, "I shall never forgive you!"

"Macabre, weren't we good friends back then?" Quietus pleaded.

Macabre simply turned away.

"It's blood…" Quietus laughed as he touched the dark liquid trickling down his forehead, "I shall return..." Quietus laughed as he turned into powder, leaving dry bones behind.

"Now... I'll send you back into the place of memory, Sanzo. Nothing will hinder this trip now." Azrael looked at Sanzo.

The portal opened once more, and Sanzo found himself back where he started.    

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A/N: Wheee!! Sap, sap, sap!! Sowie to those who think this is too much sap… I just can't help it!!


	8. Silence Of Memories

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Nothing was changed here.

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Might drive you sick. No Squaresoft here... Just plain old memories. Spoilers to Sanzo's past here.

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_"I will travel again through the tried roads..."_

Sanzo passed through the blinding portal once again and found himself back where he started. The hallways of the place of memories silent and cold. Farther away, he could hear the crashing of the river he would have to encounter once more. 

Later on, he encountered the river once more, resisting the stinging water splashing against his face. He walked on, though he walked through water, he never got wet. It was a memory, after all.

He continued on, through the memory of Komyo picking up Kouryuu. He walked through gray walls, carved with pictures of peaceful days in Changan as Kouryuu. Then, he found the memory of him giving the prayer beads to the man who would be named Rikudo. After the room showing that memory, in the very center stood a stone replica of Changan. Sanzo scaled the structure and as he took the first turn to the right, he saw that Changan wasn't stone anymore. It turned colorful and somewhat... real.

There he saw the scene restart itself all over again. Kouryuu was asked to go to Komyo's room. There, in the room, he watched as Kouryuu received his new name. Sanzo looked off into the distance and saw demons running towards Komyo's room. The demons passed through Sanzo as if he was never there and indeed. He didn't get hurt since it was all a memory. Then the bloody scene shone in his eyes.

Komyo's bright red blood on his hands and face.

The blood covering his eye.

The scent of blood horrifying... detestable.

Sanzo stepped backwards as he stared at his hands. The blood of his master was smeared on them. But the sound of something rising from the ground distracted him. He saw that Changan and the blood had disappeared and all he could see was the stone statue of his master looking to heaven with a peaceful face.

"You dare challenge Fate?" He heard a voice echo.

"Show yourself!" He yelled back, his voice echoing in the darkness.

"If you wish I would..." He heard the voice laugh and from behind the statue of Komyo appeared the source of the voice, a masked shadow.

"You're inhuman..." Sanzo whispered dangerously.

"Of course. I am not human. I am not demon. I am neither god nor undertaker. I am just an enigma. That is who I am. Keeper of this place of memories. I forbid you to go forward and change the past!" The shadow challenged Sanzo.

"Well then, I might as well face you." Sanzo said confidently as he brought out his ofuda.

"Such a puny tool... Turn them into something more worthy to fight with." The shadow hummed. The ofuda turning into a sharp lance, "Now let's fight!"

Sanzo struck forward, but the shadow disappeared and kicked him away. He continued to chase the shadow, every try unsuccessful and answered by a kick or a wound. By then, Sanzo bled furiously. Gashes on his back and arms stinging with every movement. 

"Hah! You'll never save him..." The shadow laughed.

Sanzo struggled to get up and with effort, he did. He supported himself on his lance. He then reminded himself, "What would giving up do? It won't bring Hakkai back... It will only take him away. If I give up now, what would happen? Everything I have done would be wasted. Everything I have done... They will be wasted. And I shall not waste everything I have done! Everything I have done for Hakkai!!"

And as the shadow lost himself in victory, Sanzo delivered the stab to the heart. The shadow began to bleed.

"This cannot be... Why am I dying?" He touched the bright red discharge, "I'm supposed to live forever... I cannot accept this... WHY MUST I DIE?!" He screamed as he was reduced to ashes that blew through the hall of memories.

As the wind blew, Sanzo continued his search for the memory...     

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A/N: Have I noticed this before, but do Macabre and Quietus use the same type of blood-red sword? Let's compare… 

Macabre's sword is described as "blood-red lance" while Quietus uses a "blood-red sword". They are both under Hades and used to be friends, which probably means that they use the same style of fighting. So therefore, they most likely have identical swords except from the fact that since Macabre's a 'lance', which means that Macabre's sword is lighter and thinner compared to Quietus'. 


	9. Aishiteru

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Another rewrite here!!

Warnings: Huge amounts of angst. Sanzo + Hakkai semi-fluff in this chapter. Sanzo shall become OOC. Wheee~! We're nearly done! Sorry 'bout the backlog. I was busy with schoolwork.

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_"The memory has returned yet again. What sacrifice is needed to break this solitude?"_

Sanzo finally found the memory of the bloody battlefield. He found himself looking weak at the sight of all this bloodshed. Then finally, he heard Hakkai's voice crying his name.

In the memory, the present Sanzo saw Hakkai crying in worry as he threw himself to shield the past Sanzo. The present Sanzo took a deep breath and reminded himself, "I am not weak! And I will change the future!"

At that moment, he became one with the past Sanzo, changing the memory into a reality and caught Hakkai in his arms, pushing him to the ground away from the monster. 

"San... zo..." Hakkai whispered as he saw the monk on top of him.

"Be quiet and help me kill this beast." Sanzo fired several times at the charging monster.

Hakkai nodded and did his part by firing ki blasts at the creature.

Finally, before the monster could get them, it was killed in an awesome display of blood and guts spilling where he stood.

"Yokatta... " Hakkai smiled but he was surprised to see Sanzo's eyes brimming with tears, "Doushite, Sanzo?"

"Nan demo nai, Hakkai." Sanzo turned away from Hakkai, "You'll stay alive, will you, Hakkai?"

"Of course..." Hakkai smiled, "I'll keep on living, just for you..."

Unknown to anyone, deep inside, Sanzo was smiling.

"Why do you ask, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked the blonde monk.

"Don't do anything as reckless as that again!!" Sanzo shook the brunette.

"Hai… Hai…" Hakkai sweatdropped.

"Ahh!! That was a good fight!!" Goku grinned as they traveled in Hakuryu.

"But the two of you got knocked out in the middle of the fight. You missed all the good parts!" Hakkai laughed.

"I totally hate losing to Sanzo… I bet him all my money that he couldn't give the finishing blow!!" Gojyo demanded.

"Sore loser…" Sanzo grumbled.

And so the journey to the west continued, but unknown to anyone, Azrael and Macabre watched over them as they went out of the region.

"Do you think they'd do their job before dying?" Azrael rested her head on Macabre's shoulder.

"I guess so, Azra. It will take a lot before they die again…" Macabre smiled.

"Well then… I hope they'd last longer than this journey now…" The brunette undertaker closed her eyes as Macabre looked on to the west.

_Owari_

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A/N: THIS IS NOT THE END!! There is still one last epilogue chapter after this…  


	10. Azrael's Report

_Never Eternal_

_by yumeneko_

Disclaimer: As usual... Saiyuki is Kazuya Minekura-sensei's... I'm just using it for angsty stuff...

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Note: Wheee~! Finally, the epilogue chapter!!

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"Pages unfold once more and the tale is retold…" 

Azrael compiled her report into one folder, careful not to accidentally make them fall off. Her hair gathered into a ponytail, she walked to Hades' throne room.

"So, Azrael… Do you have the report of the mission yesterday?" Hades asked, his dark armor making him look threatening.

"Yes, Hades-sama," Azrael bowed low, "Shall I dictate it to you?"

"Go ahead Azrael. Feel free to report your findings…"

"I shall begin now…" Azrael took a deep breath and read her report out loud, "The Terra were rampant around this certain village where the Sanzo-ikkou were staying at. As always, the townspeople tried to fight against these monstrosities. But as I've noticed, from the tracks in the battlefield, that what they were fighting against was no ordinary Terra. Older records file this type of Terra as 'Criminal Terra' a Terra who was a criminal while still living. They are described to have snakes attached to their bodies and eyes more terrifying than the 'Suicide' or 'Insane' Terra types. While 'Suicide' and 'Insane' Terra types are more build for speed, the 'Criminal' is made for heavy attacking, which would probably be why Cho Hakkai was able to shield Genjo Sanzo from him. But this also resulted in his death. 

While I was doing my job, Kanzeon Bosatsu summoned me and commanded that I revive Cho Hakkai's body. She told me that his corpse could be found in the battlefield where he and the 'Criminal' have died. But when I reached the battlefield, all I could find was his soul. Evidence that the Terra were using the 'Criminal' to collect bodies and souls. But since it is Terra nature to collect both, I feel as if they had left Cho Hakkai's soul out for a reason. I suspected a necromancer to be behind this since Terra cannot do this kind of task. But I could have never suspected my own brother to be the culprit. 

So I took the form of the soul, careful enough not to harm it. According to Kanzeon, she said that while I take the form of Hakkai, I would have to meet with Genjo Sanzo and send him to revive Cho Hakkai's soul by himself. So I met him. A soul can be revived in two ways, one is by using the corpse and reuniting it with the soul. Second is to go to the place of memory and change the past. Though the second maybe harder than the first, since the corpse was missing, we had to use it. Luckily, both Macabre and me knew how to open the portal. Not many necromancers and reapers know this kind of spell.

Although many hardships passed our way, we were finally able to destroy the leader of the Terra who was none other than the former Grim Reaper and my brother, Quietus. I believe that since Quietus is gone, we can dispatch the reaper squad to send the Terra back to the pool of souls. That is all I can report, Hades-sama."

"Well done, Azrael…" The dark god arose from his throne, "Send the reapers under you to retrieve the Terra right away. Tell Macabre to let his squad of necromancers accompany you in case that you find any mutated Terra."

"Yes, Hades-sama!" Azrael bowed before she walked toward the darkness of the hallways of Pandemonium…

And so, the story fades away into memory and everyone goes on with their lives. But somewhere in the distance an evil laugh echoes…

"Genjo Sanzo… You have revived Hakkai. But at the same time… You've revived me. Oh… I want to show my appreciation for all this, so I'll gladly bring you to heaven and hell the next time we meet. And when we do… I'll make you change your mind and give your heart to me. Mwahahahahaha!! Go to the west, my beloved morons!!"  

People who have heard this voice look towards the west and see a black-cloaked man who they say is just their imagination…

But we all know the truth, don't we?

"Someday… After I gain my revenge over you, Sanzo… I'll replace Cho Hakkai forever… and be your beloved… You'd have no other choice but to meet me again. Ah… I just can't wait until that time comes…"

_Owari (or is it?)_


	11. Final Note

Note to all readers of the previous Never Eternal:

I've re-edited the fic, so what you're reading right now is 100% rewrite. R&R please : )


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